Are we gaslighting ourselves with therapy speak?

“This reel I saw the other day mentioned how most people have a mental tendency of going back to where they came from, regardless of whether that place or person is good for them. That helped me understand why we had to break up,” he says.

Bhatia elaborates that he did not know much about anxiety before he saw reels on Instagram talking about the subject. “Once I saw them, I understood what I might be going through and had better terminology to describe my emotions,” he explains.

“Here are 5 signs your partner is a narcissist.” “Do you think you have childhood trauma? These are the signs.” “Are you depressed? Here’s how to find out.” This vocabulary revolving around therapy and mental health has become so pervasive that Nikita Khatri, 22, recounts scrolling through several such reels every time she picks up her phone to use Instagram.

What is therapy speak?

According to Rohini Kesavan Rajeev, senior psychotherapist and founder of The Able Mind, therapised language – termed therapy speak by The New Yorker in 2021 – in simple terms, is prescriptive language.

“It entails the use of words and concepts in psychology – usually employed by mental health practitioners in a professional setting, outside of these settings by people, either because they have heard it and do not realise that they are using it themselves now or simply because it’s trending,” she elaborates.

This linguistic style can be used to inspire and motivate others while also providing skills and ideas for personal improvement.

Rajeev says that words like “headspace”, “toxic-relationships”, “emotional- availability”, “narcissistic” and more specific diagnostic parlance like OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), anxiety, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) etc are being thrown around like coins in a wish fountain.

Why is therapy speak becoming famous?

Khatri explains that most of the mental health-related content she sees on Instagram is either from licensed therapists or “these self-diagnoses reels by content creators.”

There are multiple reasons why therapy speak is now becoming entrenched in how we interact. One of them is simply that mental health content has been on the rise for the past few years. As per Vishnupriya Bhagirath, a psychologist at Softminds Counselling Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, this is because social media allows for a wider reach, enabling individuals to share their personal experiences, struggles and insights with a vast audience.

Explaining that the concise and relatable nature of therapised language allows for easy consumption and sharing, Bhagirath says, “In an era where mental health awareness is growing, therapised language provides individuals with accessible tools and language to reflect on their own experiences.”

Another reason is perhaps that mental health disorders themselves have drastically risen, especially since the pandemic hit us like a demon on a bullet train out of hell. A WHO-conducted study found a 25 per cent increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide, which has disproportionately hit young people.

The use of therapy speak, in circumstances such as these, on social media allows content creators – both professional therapists and your garden-variety influencers – to interact with their audience, “create trust, and present themselves as relatable and supporting characters,” Rajeev says.

Is therapy speak doing more harm than good?

Zil Shah, 22, a public relations professional, confesses that her younger sister who is in Class 10, started taking therapy and nobody in the family knew about it. “She had our father’s credit card number and paid for therapy without anyone finding out in the first month. She told me, ‘I thought I needed help. I thought I was being triggered’,” Shah recalls.

Khatri says she was exposed to therapy by her family when she was younger so she has not felt reflected in the reels doing the rounds on social media but most of her friends have. “A lot of people around me have seen this content and asked themselves, ‘Am I anxious?’ or ‘Do I have an anxiety disorder?’. I’ve seen a lot of self-diagnosing and labelling happening in my friends.”

While increased conversations about mental health have helped bring these topics to the dinner table and marginally lift the taboo around them, there have also been factors harming those it is supposed to benefit.

Therapised language often focuses on generalisations and simplifications, which may not capture the unique nuances of each individual’s experience, leading to misinterpretations and misunderstandings.

Due to various factors, young people can be more susceptible to the influence of therapised language on social media.

Explaining that adolescence and early adulthood are critical periods of identity formation and emotional exploration, Bhagirath says, “Therapised language resonates with young individuals who are navigating the complexities of their inner worlds, seeking validation, and striving for personal growth. The relatability and accessibility of such language make it appealing, as it offers a sense of understanding and support.”

While there are no statistics that have recorded this phenomenon at length, it is worthwhile to evaluate the effect of this over-indulgence in misinformation and oversimplification of the psychiatric lexicon on youngsters.

Constant exposure to mental health discussions, self-diagnostic labels, and an abundance of relatable content may lead some individuals to over-identify with certain symptoms or conditions, according to Bhagirath.

“It’s bad enough that we google our symptoms and self-diagnose our physical health issues, social media has made us overly self-aware and self-critical, conscious and we tend to make a disorder out of every distress, almost making it sound cool,” says Rajeev.

Despite mental health content becoming omnipresent, people are not yet taking the extra step to seek professional help, according to the experts we consulted. As per a mental health survey done by Deloitte last year, around 80 per cent of the Indian workforce reported mental health issues but a mere 29 per cent took a leave of absence to manage those issues, while 33 per cent kept working as usual.

Unfortunately, it is those who struggle with chronic and acute mental health challenges who seem to hold back on seeking help, because there is always someone trivialising it or over-simplifying it for them, thanks to social media, Rajeev says.

How can young people affected negatively be helped?

It is important to ensure that young people develop a balanced perspective and recognise that therapised language on social media is not a substitute for professional help. “Encouraging critical thinking, promoting discernment and fostering a holistic approach to mental health can help young individuals derive the benefits of therapised language while maintaining a healthy perspective and seeking appropriate support when needed,” Bhagirath says.

Social media sites offer a wealth of knowledge about mental health, including symptoms, descriptive details, self-assessment tools and even information on medication/its side effects and so on. While this information can be useful for raising awareness and giving general education, according to Rajeev, it should be approached with caution. Teach young ones critical thinking skills, helping them differentiate between relatable content and individualised experiences.

It is important to create awareness among young people that even though social media might offer ideas and support, it cannot replace individualised counselling or therapy from qualified and experienced mental health counsellors.

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